VICTORIA FALLS — Soccer legend and former Warriors captain Peter Ndlovu was yesterday exonerated of causing the accident which claimed the lives of his elder brother Adam and a female passenger, Nomqhele Tshili, in December last year after the court ruled that the State had failed to prove a case against him. Report by Richard Muponde
Ndlovu was discharged by Victoria Falls magistrate Archibald Dingana at the close of the State case.
However, in an interview outside the court soon after the ruling, Ndlovu said there was nothing to celebrate because his acquittal would not bring back Adam and Tshili.
“I am still very sad about the situation. Acquittal means nothing to me as that will not bring back Adam and Nomqhele to life,” said Ndlovu.
“There is no victory in such, where it is involving the death of people. I wanted to carry on with my life instead of being dragged to court. Although people died, the accident was beyond my control. It was an accident I, therefore, apologise to the nation, family, friends and children about the situation. I also appreciate the support the nation gave me, it really wanted Peter Ndlovu to be acquitted because in its conscience, it knew it was an accident. I say to the family of Nomqhele be strong, we are together in this grief. It was a nation’s loss as two lives were taken away.”
In acquitting Ndlovu, Dingana said the State had failed to prove its case beyond any reasonable doubt that he was negligent in his driving leading to the accident and the loss of Adam and Tshili.
“Rules of evidence are very clear that indications are supposed to be done by an eyewitness or parties involved in the accident. In this case, a Constable Nsingo who made the indications was not part to the accident or an eyewitness. One wonders how he could make indications. This means the accident scene sketch plan by the investigating officer, Constable Victor Mavunga, was based on assumptions. In my view, he could have waited for the accused to make indications since he was alive, but to call him two months later was only to tell him (Peter) what had happened and not to get his indications. In that view, the sketch plan falls out of system,” said Dingana.
“One also wonders why the accident evaluator (Constable Lovemore Tipugare), whose expertise was much needed, could not draw a sketch plan, but left the job to Mavunga, who is not an expert in that area. Even if Mavunga’s sketch plan was to be admitted, he did not measure the distance from where the vehicle veered off the road to where it finally rested to calculate the speed the accused was travelling at. In my view, it was not his duty to explain the speed because he was not there. That puts a dent in the State’s case as the particular of negligence of travelling at an excessive speed could not be established.”
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Dingana said there was also a grey area in the manner the vehicle’s tyres were taken for forensic examination.
“The accused was supposed to be there to see the state of the wheels so that there couldn’t be any dispute. There was no rush to do so, the police could have waited for the accused to recover or contact his relatives who could have summoned a lawyer to be present since accused was in a coma. The Vehicle Inspection Department, which is impartial, said the wheels were Hankook and the forensic scientist (David Zuze) didn’t receive Hankook tyres only, but the other was a Continental. The question is: Where did the Continental tyre come from? This makes the forensic scientist’s evidence irrelevant because he examined wrong tyres,” said Dingana.
He said there was no law that an accused person could put missing links in his case for the benefit of the State’s case.
“The State failed at this stage to dispel that there was no tyre burst. It is my belief that there was a tyre burst and in that view, no one could control a vehicle if he could not see that an accident was imminent. Therefore, accused’s application is proper and he is discharged at the close of the State case,” the magistrate ruled.
Ndlovu, through his lawyer, Harrison Nkomo, had applied for discharge at the close of the State case, arguing that the State had failed to prove a prima facie case against him. However, the State, represented by Namatirai Ngwasha, had opposed the application.
Ndlovu was being charged with culpable homicide following the deaths of Adam and Tshili in a road accident on December 16.
